Shell earrings

I just posted these fun shell earrings in my etsy shop! I made them by forming the copper into the shell-like shapes, then dipping them in white liqid enamel, and firing them in the kiln. I then sifted transparent mint green enamel over the white.

Click here to see them in my shop!

The copper disks with the faux pearls were riveted into a bead, and attached with wire.

I have one more necklace that I will be listing in my etsy shop in the next couple of days, and then I need to get back into the studio to start making more! I'm going crazy not being able to work on anything right now. I don't have access to a studio until I move. Only one more week!

Over the weekend I went tubing down the Salt River with my boyfriend, my parents, and my mom's friend. It was a lot of fun! Most of it was relaxing, but there were a couple of moments when things got a little harrowing. The water wasn't too deep, but the water current was still really strong. We lost a few clothing items, but nothing too important. We also saw a wild horse run by the river! I don't know why I hadn't gone tubing before! It's a great summer activity in Arizona. The water was really cold, but the hot sun keeps you warm enough that it never gets uncomfortable. I definitely want to go back again.

Einstein stones and enameled bowl

In February, I worked at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show for a Swiss company, and I purchased these pendants from their Einstein collection. They are cut from paving stone from the road in front of the building where Albert Einstein used to live in Bern, Switzerland. So cool! It's the road he walked on every day! The city of Bern decided to repave the road, and the owner of the company bought these from the city to make jewelry out of! I thought it was a really interesting idea, and many of their clients thought so as well.

I've been meaning to set stones in them, but I haven't had the time yet. But I finally got the diamond burs to be able to drill holes in them! I went to Kent's Tools for the first time on Wednesday with my friend Mayra, and had a lot of fun buying tools!




I finally photographed the bowl that I finished in May (in the photographs below). I raised the copper from a flat metal disk to make the bowl shape, and then made a design inspired by my herb garden with cloisonné enamel. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I wasn't sure at first if I would like raising, but I definitley want to do more of it in the future. All that hammering is tiring, but it's also a good way to get out any aggression or stress. Oddly, I found it to be quite meditative.

The enameling part was even more of a challenge. The bowl just barely fit in the kiln, and and I had to make my own custom trivet (with help from a fellow classmate) to accommodate it. It was also extremely difficult to keep the silver wires in place once I put the bowl in the kiln. Because the surface is curved at such an angle, they kept slipping right off when I shut the door. I discovered that by wet packing the enamel around the wires before the wires were fused was very helpful. The wet enamel acted as a glue to hold the wires in place long enough for them to fuse. It took a lot of enamel, and many, many firings, but I was happy with it in the end.

Have a good weekend!

Etsy shop!

I have finally set up my etsy shop! At the moment I don't have many items in it, but I will list more in the next few weeks. My shop name is MetalFusion, and you can find my shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/MetalFusion. It's very exciting!

This week I'm just working on setting up my shop and doing things that I've been meaning to get done. There never seems to be enough time for anything! I'm also packing and getting ready for my move to Phoenix! I'm excited, but also really sad to say goodbye to everyone. Saturday was my last day at work. Everyone signed a card for me, which was a really nice surprise. Then, after work, I met my boyfriend Jorge at Raices Taller for a gallery opening, in which he had few pieces. It was a fun show with a good crowd. The show is titled How Brown am I? and was mainly in response to SB1070. Here are a few images of his amazing work!

screenprint

woodcut

solar print

etching

I didn't get images of any other work because they didn't want people taking photos.

One more thing...

Here's a little sneek peek at what we were doing at my sister Lauren's place over the weekend. You'll have to visit her blog on Saturday to find out what it's for at http://www.fairrosie.blogspot.com/. It was delicious!

Have a nice week everyone!

Introduction and Exhibition

Hello! In the fall I will begin graduate school at Arizona State University, and I will be writing about my adventures! I am so excited to start! Later on when I move up to Phoenix, I'll post pictures.

In the mean time, there are some other exciting things going on this summer. On Friday there was an opening for the Arizona Designer Craftsmen 50th Anniversary Juried Exhibition at the Mesa Arts Center. It was a great opening! There were so many amazing art pieces in the show, and the Mesa Arts Center is a really nice place! I had a lot of fun! The show will still be up until August 8th.

my bracelet in the show